Advice on inheritance disputes

[Ilovechinese]

Hi I'm just wondering if anyone on here has been to court to contest a will and if so how long did it take to get to court and what the process is. I'm going through this at the minute (well not got to court yet) but have a caveat in place to stop probate.

@17Soontobe60 no it isn't more relevant. OP had said that she is a lone parent and in need of the money. The links are to those who have taken holidays with inheritance, this isn't relevant because of the OP's described circumstances of being not very well off to start with - the money would therefore likely to be used on essentials rather than lifetime holidays. And in any case, this thread isn't about what she'd do with the money it's about getting her fair share of it in the first place! Other than that we don't know anything about her personal circumstances. It may or may not be relevant to her - I have already corrected the original post & said that my relative is disabled and therefore the rules of the trust fund was made with that in mind BY A SOLICITOR. We don't know anything about the OP and I'm sure that she has more than enough capacity to make informed decisions.

Don't be daft, Chocolate. This link from Soontobe, for example, dates from 2018: www.bromleys.co.uk/inheriting-money-whilst-on-benefits/

I don't think the OP should take LEGAL advice from anyone who is not a qualified solicitor, barrister or lawyer.

@39VanGoghsDog shame that people can't get together after the unfair will has been executed & share it out fairly anyway isn't it?
I was just thinking that it must be relevant legally when trying to sort these things out? There was a previous post about someone leaving money to one grandson but not others & the key was that they'd outlined clear reasons that she'd done this to the solicitor (who was also experienced in will writing for elderly). It seemed legally significant according to the poster.

Absolutely this can be done by agreement via a deed of variation if the beneficiaries agree.

OP have you tried formal mediation? I have RTFT but can't remember.

@44florascotia2 so it is. Posts crossed over & I'd posted before I'd seen the most recent! Original post was from 1995 & that's what I was referring to

As legally trained posters have already said, the fact that the OP's mother DID leave her something in her will is likely to be taken to show that the mother DID consider the OPs needs and provided what she considered to be an appropriate sum for them.

As the Ilott case proves, there is nothing in English law to say that all beneficiaries of a will have to be given what they consider "fair shares".

@27LuluJakey1 I am curious & I hope you don't mind me asking, Grandma outlined good reasons for leaving money to one grandson but not the other - what were these reasons? I'm just thinking it's quite key & if it's important might be useful.
You never know when you're going to be removed from a will after all.

This thread makes me very sad that these things aren't discussed between family members prior to writing the will.
It's like giving you the finger from beyond the grave

shame that people can't get together after the unfair will has been executed & share it out fairly anyway isn't it?

I expect my dad thinks what he did was "fair", but there is no objective test. His brother was a waste of space and I guess dad thinks if he had led a better life he might not have died so early. And he was a total nightmare when granddad died and when nan was ill and needed care, so maybe dad thinks he deserves it all as he did everything for them

I was just thinking that it must be relevant legally when trying to sort these things out?

Well, it's not. And it can't be as it's not an objective thing.

@Lailaha well if I win based on what others have said then they would have to pay my costs.

OP I am sorry for your loss, much as though you think this situation is unfair, disrespectful to your dad etc The money was your mums to do as she wished with, she made a new will and did just that, unfair as it may well feel to you and your other sibling.

As to your brother, did he put influence on her to change her will in his favour? who knows, its possible, but if that was the case then he would surely have made sure he got everything. He and his partner were caring for your mum, dont underestimate just how hard that is, would you feel you were still entitled to your third if you mum had lived 1, 3, 5 or 10 more years with your brother and partner doing all her daily care?

You said you spoke to her frequently, did you have any concerns about her mental well being, her capacity? you may not have been seeing her but if you were talking to her regularly you would and do notice difference. I live abroad speak to my mum most days, I KNOW when she is ill or things are not good, she doesn't have to say it I can hear the difference in her voice.

Finally I had a very nasty situation regarding money a house and an ex, I was so so pissed off angry, bitter and hated him with a passion but all those emotions only hurt me, made me ill, I was becoming someone I didnt like, it was consuming me and my life, in the end I settled, cost me tens of thousands but it was like a weight was lifted. Holding on to anger, bitterness and hate is like holding a hot coal it only hurts you

I wish you luck, but more importantly peace and closure

OP, Again, you don't understand.
Look again at what Idonothaveablackcat said on page 28 of this thread:

"There is no guarantee even if you 'win' (and that word carries all kinds of varied meanings in the legal context) that you will get your costs out of the estate."

blackcat's advice is very sensible. Please take it on board.

This is just going round in circles now

@Chocolate50 thank you for all your help and advise and you seem to get exactly how it feels "like giving you the finger from beyond the grave" and it's very upsetting when you love someone who has died and are grieving and then read their will and feel that either they didn't care very much about you to do that or that you were conned out of your inheritance by your older sibling who should be looking out for you at a time like this.

Beverly I agree.
I think that the OP should sit down, read very very carefully the good advice given by legal people on this thread, make a list of questions to ask her solicitor, and ignore uniformed comments here. Those just raise unlikely hopes and confuse the issue.
And, as you rightly say, some of them go over previously-discussed points again and again.

@ilovechinese that's not how it works - applying for costs is a separate issue. You're highly unlikely, based on what you have written here, to be awarded costs. You're also highly unlikely, on what you've written here, to win this case.

I know you are lapping up what chocolate is posting, as it agrees with your narrative, but bear in mind she's said a) she's got no legal training b) doesn't know much about wills and c) is expecting to be disinherited.

I am not sure whether you are blinded to reason by your desire for revenge (or "justice" as you call it - if your father wanted you to have the money, he'd have left it to you, after all. And you are pretty sneery about your mother not working, despite the fact that her raising of your father's family left him free to accumulate the money you feel entitled to. Despite having done nothing, compared to him or your mother, to earn it) or whether there's something else going on here.

I actually think Pp's suggestion of asking a no win no fee solicitor is a good one, to get an indication of whether, based on the actual evidence rather than what you've posted, you have a chance. If they won't take your case, there's your answer.

@lailaha I am not sneers of her not working, I am angry that she felt (or more likely was put under undue influence) to leave it all to the child who was not even my fathers son. How in any way is that fair?! How would you feel to work hard all your life only to die early and then your money or assets go to someone who wasn't even related to you? Of course he loved him and treated him as his own and wanted him to have some but that just makes what hes done all the more hurtful and disrespectful.

Oh and my father would have always worked regardless with or without my mother. But her without him would never have been able to afford to buy a home or unless she got with another man with money.

I nearly had a situation, in that a family member tried to make my mother make a new will a few weeks before she died. The plot was uncovered when my mother said, "X is bringing someone to see me, but I mustn't tell anyone..." Knowing the family member and putting several clues together, I twigged straightaway and literally ran to the matron of the hospice to get her written agreement that my mother was in no state to sign anything.

Luckily I was in the nick of time because when I spoke with a solicitor afterwards, he said that it would have been very difficult and costly to overturn a will made when someone is judged of sound mind. If you are saying someone is not of sound mind, then that is questioning the professionalism and integrity of that solicitor who spoke with the client making the will, which is hard to prove.

Additionally, benefits are for those requiring them! If I acquire £10m I no longer need benefits, no matter where that £10m came from. The rule is no more than £16K in savings, whether they are from an inheritance, winning the Lottery or finding it down the side of the sofa (ie hidden bank account).

@irmafatlear oh my gosh that is scary! And so lucky you found out in time! I think my mother wanted to go to a hospice but obviously it would have been harder for them to get away with what they were planning which is why they looked after her at her house. Was your mother not of sound mind at the time then? I had also put clues together what my brother was planning as he had told me I needed to sign over my fathers half of the house to my mother obviously thinking they were tenants in common so I know this was all his planning and not my mothers. Some people really are so devious! Did you tell the family member you had found out what they were planning?

I think that the OP should sit down, read very very carefully the good advice given by legal people on this thread, make a list of questions to ask her solicitor, and ignore uniformed comments here. Those just raise unlikely hopes and confuse the issue.

I think this thread is quite clear that the OP will only listen to anything that supports her POV be that misinformation, cheerleading or her own incorrect interpretation of sensible advice.

You really don’t want to look at the effect that you pursuing this will have on your children, do you OP?

Which is ironic (and rather sad) as you yourself don’t feel your mother prioritised you. History repeating? You can probably convince yourself that you’re doing this for your children, but the reality of the high risk of loss of money, mental energy and focus means that just cannot be true.

As I said in my post last night, I’ve been through a horrible will dispute. I would have been so desperately grateful for the clearly carefully considered advice from the legal professionals that you’ve had on here. (I wasn’t on MN at the time.) Yet you dismiss it, often quite rudely.

I haven't been rude to anyone on here that wasn't rude to me. I have thanked everyone for their advice (even when it wasn't what I wanted to hear) and have apologized where I have been wrong.

@Ilovechinese
had also put clues together what my brother was planning as he had told me I needed to sign over my fathers half of the house to my mother obviously thinking they were tenants in common so I know this was all his planning and not my mothers.

Does this mean that when your DF died you inherited half his house? Ifnso, did you do as your DH asked and sign it over to your mother?

Your mother had every right to do what she did. The house was no less hers because she was a sahm and your father worked, what a horrible and outdated attitude.